Digital imaging devices, typified by digital cameras, have been rapidly growing in popularity in recent years. At the same time, the pixel count has been increasing in the CCDs, CMOSs, and other such imaging elements mounted in digital cameras. This reflects the desire for higher resolution in digital cameras. Therefore, single-reflex camera systems, compact digital cameras, high-magnification digital cameras, and the like have recently been equipped with an image blur correction function for correcting the blurring of images produced by camera shake.
Conventional single-reflex camera systems have had an interchangeable lens with a built-in image blur correction device and shake detection element, such as an angular velocity sensor or acceleration sensor. With these systems, the shake detection element detects when the camera is shaken, the image blur correction device computes a suitable correction value for the shake detected by the shake detection element, and the optical path is corrected by moving an image blur correction lens up, down, left, or right on the basis of this correction value. This suppresses the blurring of an image that would otherwise be produced by camera shake (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1 proposes a continuous correction mode, in which image blur correction is performed when a release button is pressed half-way down, and a release correction mode, in which image blur correction is performed only during release, in view of reducing power consumption.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application H05-224270